The Exeter, New Hampshire UFO Encounter, Sept. 3, 1965

The 1965 Exeter, New Hampshire UFO story is one of the most interesting and well documented investigation cases in ufology history and if your not
familiar with it and like to read about older UFO cases then i highly recommend this story to you. it really is one of the great UFO stories from the
sixties and is just one of many that were occurring in the upper northeast part of the U.S. during this time period.

According to the report, a man named Norman Muscarello was walking home late at night and was terrorized by an ominous UFO that emerged from the woods
nearby that seemingly interatcted with him. he described the main object as being a very bright light with five red lights that were close together on
the craft. after the initial bizzare encounter he had with the strange object Norman found a ride to the local Police station to report what had
happened. one of the police officers then drove out to the site with Norman and while there, two Police officers witnessed the object flying around.
they also described the UFO as a large object with four or five bright red lights.

1:30 A.M. While hitchhiking home in the early hours of September 3, teenager Norman Muscarello was terrorized by a large object with four or five
bright red lights that approached from nearby woods and hovered over a field near the road. He went to the Exeter police station, pale and shaken, and
reported the incident. Officer Eugene Bertrand drove him back to the field to investigate. About an hour earlier Bertrand had come across a woman
parked on Route 101. "She was real upset," he said, "and told me that a red glowing object had chased hen" When he was called to investigate
Muscarello's report, the earlier incident caused him to pay attention. At first Bertrand and Muscarello saw nothing, but when Bertrand flashed a
light around the field, a huge dark object with red flashing lights rose up over the trees, moving back and forth, tilted, and came toward
them.

Exeter Patrolmen Eugene Bertrand, Jr. and David Hunt, and Norman Muscarello saw a large silent, dark, elliptical object with a row of 5 bright red
lights oriented about 60° to horizontal, move slowly and erratically around houses and trees at 100 ft height to SE [or 60-70 ft height 100 ft away],
lighting up the ground and houses in red light, while lights blinked in sequence; falling leaf motion. Farm animals very noisy. Disappeared at 160°
magnetic after covering about 135° arc

I felt kind of foolish walking out here on private property after midnight, looking for a flying saucer!"

Bertrand then suggested that we go out to the field so that he could show me where he and Norman had been. We got out of the car and strolled into the
field toward a corral.

"We walked out about this far," he said "I waved my flashlight back and forth, and then Norman shouted----'Look out, here it comes!' I swung
around and could hardly believe what I was seeing. There was this huge, dark object as big as that barn over there with red flashing lights on it. It
barely cleared that tree right there, and it was moving back and forth."

"What did you guys do when you saw that thing?" I asked.

"Well, it seemed to tilt and come right at us. Norman told me later that I was yelling, 'I'll shoot it! I'll shoot it!' I did automatically drop
on one knee and drew my service revolver, but I didn't shoot. I do remember suddenly thinking that it would be unwise to fire at it, so I yelled to
Norman to run for the cruiser, but he just froze in his tracks. I practically had to drag him back!"

"How close was the object to you then?" I asked.

"It seemed to be about one hundred feet up and about one hundred feet away. All I could see at that point was bright red with sort of a halo effect.
I thought we'd be burned alive, but it gave off no heat and I didn't hear any noise. I called Dave Hunt on the radio. He was already on his way out
here and arrived in just a few minutes. Whatever it was, it must have really scared the horses in that barn."

Map showing location of Rt. 150 South of Exeter where Norman was walking when he encountered the UFO

U.S. Air Force personel and Allen Hynek from project Blue Book investigated the incident and quickly dismissed the encounter as a misidentified
airplane or sometype of weather phenomena. as you will read in the report the Air Force personel did not want anyone to know about this and went out
of their way to try and coverup this story.

the Police officers were very upset about the explanation being given out by the Air Force because it made them look as if they were not credible or
qualified observers. the Police officers persistance finally lead to the Pentigon officially admitting this case was about an unidentified object.

A similar report substantiated his story. Earlier, Bertrand had come upon a lone woman parked on the side of Route 101 near an overpass two miles
outside Exeter.

She said a huge, silent, red and brilliantly glowing airborne object had chased her from the town of Epping about 12 miles away. It had been only a
few feet from her car before it departed at a tremendous speed and disappeared.

"Pease sent out a major and a lieutenant on the fourth, and they asked the police if they would just keep their UFO information confidential. But
the police told the Air Force officers that the Manchester Union Leader reporter had already been there and got the story. The Air Force actually sent
the lieutenant around Exeter to buy up all the newspapers with the sighting story, which I thought, was ludicrous. Then the officers went on site and
investigated, asking farmers if their cows were giving the same amount of milk, the chickens still producing the same amount of eggs. And there were
rumors that they investigated a burned area in the field and then asked Carl Dining to bulldoze his field."

my conclusion:
the Police officers were in my opinion qualified observers that would be able distinguish the difference between airplanes in the sky and an object
near their police car wich means they did see a UFO and that means all The Witnesses were telling the truth about what they had seen.

so the question is what was it ? and why was the Air Force so concerned about not letting this story get out to the public ? the only two explanations
i can think of are, some type of secret military craft or an Alien Spacecraft.

what do you think happened on September 3, 1965 in Exeter, New Hampshire ?

This case is one of the better ones, and I remember reading a book by Philip Klass on the sighting. He was very upset that someone was misquoted in a
book, and put the case down as a hoax because of it.

New Hampshire has had its share of good UFO encounters. I don't know if they want such a distinction.

Yes, definitely one of the best UFO cases from back in the sixties and what the Air Force and officials at the Pentagon used as an explanation for
this event is really quite funny but sad...lol

However, about two weeks after my letter dismissing the advertising plane was printed in the local news, the Pentagon issued a number of
explanations for the incident. They included: "a high altitude Strategic Air Command exercise" and a temperature inversion which causes "stars and
planets to dance and twinkle." These explanations came directly from Washington and were prominently displayed in the papers around the Exeter
area.

PENTAGON DOESN'T BELIEVE
UFO EXETER SIGHTINGS

Washington, D.C.-The Pentagon believes that after intensive investigation, it has come up with a natural explanation of the UFO sightings in Exeter,
N.H., on September 3. . . . The spokesman said, "We believe what the people saw that night was stars and planets in unusual formations." (6)

Some intensive investigation! Does this sound like high-altitude aircraft or stars and planets twinkling?

It was coming up over a row of trees. There was no noise at all. It was about one hundred feet in the air and about two hundred feet away from us. I
could see five bright red lights in a straight row. They dimmed from right to left and then from left to fight. . . . It lit up everything . . . it
was silent. The horses started kicking and making an awful fuss, and the dogs in the farm started barking. The kid froze in his tracks, and I grabbed
him and pulled him toward the police car. I reached for my revolver and then thought better of it. Then Officer David Hunt arrived in another patrol
car. We sat there and looked at it for at least ten minutes. My brain kept telling me that this doesn't happen-but it was right in front of my eyes.
There was no tail, no wings, and again no sound. It hovered there, still about one hundred feet away, sort of floated and wobbled. I don't know what
it was. All I can say is that it was there, and three of us saw it together. (7)

This official release from Washington was all too familiar and completely frustrating. The witnesses felt that such statements jeopardized their
hard-earned reputations as responsible police officers. In response to a request for further information about the Strategic Air Command aircraft
exercise,

this part really bugs me...it's obvious to me that they were just trying to bamboozle everyone with these lame explanations and thank God the Police
officers were upset enough to finally get these Washington officials to admit this was a case about a UFO.

(i am sure you may already be familiar with that part of the story, i just wanted to point out that part for everyone to see.)

just goes to show you that either the Military was completely incompetent when dealing with this phenomena or they were guilty of trying to cover
this story up. maybe it was both ?

anyways i would like to know more about the misquote that Mr. Klass was upset about ? was it something printed in one of the newspaper articles that
was mis-interpreted by someone ? .........

I live in Exeter, NH - although I wasn't born yet during that time, the locals I've talked to about it have told me some of the things they've
seen. The topic might not be brought up very often, but -everybody- knows of the event in the area.

In the mid 60's, even a year leading up to the "incident" there were hundreds of sightings around here. Rt. 88, a long back road that's about 2-3
miles long, goes from Exeter into Hampton Falls. People used to camp out on the side of the road all the time looking for UFO's, the guy who wrote
the story even mentioned it.

I've never seen anything myself (always looking!), and I drive down that road every day of my life

Fascinating encounter, and not one I had read about before; thanks for bringing it to our attention! If from time to time I ever have my doubts about
the reality of the UFO phenonemum it's cases like this one that strengthen my belief and conviction that something very strange is going on which the
authorities don't want us to know about.

I agree with your assesment that the object was real and either a secret military project or not of human manufacture; the witnesses seem credible and
have no reason to lie except that is to deny the event to protect their careers which thankfully they have not. I really struggle to believe that
this could be a "black" project, the technology just seems way too advanced for the 1960's. Which of course leaves us with very few possible
explanations besides the ET hypothesis.

i had a feeling someone from Exeter might chime in on this thread and as i suspected and you have confirmed, many people there know about this case.
what is it about New Hamshire that made this place a UFO hotspot is what i am wondering ? with all the activity that has taken place there i am
surprised you haven't seen anything yet but i will say that be careful what you wish for.

this story caught my interest because just like Norman i was walking home late at night and was terrorized by a UFO and it was not a pleasant
experience. looking back at it now i am glad it happened because it has given me a basis to work from in trying to understand what we are dealing with
but what happened to Norman and myself is not something i would recommend. i am sure people like Norman and Travis Walton would agree with me. thanks
again and here another interesting story from Exeter...

When police officers , pilots, miltary personnel observing strange objects in the sky, the credibility of something like this, is always
acceptable

thanks OzWeatherman, good call and can you just imagine what those police Officers went thru to clear their credibility ? it must have been a
traumatic Psychological experience to have your name broadcasted Nationwide with people doubting what you said. i am sure they were glad to have
vindicated themselves. events like this could be the reason many police officers and others are reluctant to go on record about these things.

it's cases like this one that strengthen my belief and conviction that something very strange is going on which the authorities don't want us
to know about.

your welcome sonicology and i am glad to know that my efforts here have helped people such as yourself to find this great UFO story and yes you are
exactly right that the PTB do not want us to know the truth about UFO's and this case is just one of many that prove that in my opinion.

the goverment and the military have been lying about this whole thing for years and i believe someday they will be held accountable for what they have
done to us. i can only hope, and thanks for you reply

this story caught my interest because just like Norman i was walking home late at night and was terrorized by a UFO and it was not a pleasant
experience.

Easynow -- care to elaborate on your experience? What made it unpleasant... I'm researching and writing a paper about the psychological states in
the aftermath of a sighting, both in the immediate moments, minutes, hours and following days. Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

i don't want to elaborate on my story in this thread and i see that you have started a thread asking for people to talk about their encounter so
maybe i will reply to that at a later date.

the only thing i will tell you here is that just like Norman in this story i am Haunted by this and will never forget that day. when you are
confronted with something that you don't understand and it could be a possible threat to your safety , fear overwhelms you.

if you read the part about this story where they are in the field and they see this UFO coming at them , their reactions where similar to mine.

There's a very good book entitled Incident at Exeter by John Fuller, the same author who wrote The Interrupted Journey about the Betty
and Barney Hill case. He chronicles some amazing reports from citizens all around the area including some that continued while he was there
researching the article for the "Saturday Review". It's great stuff, and he finds some interesting correlations between the locations of the
sightings and the locations of high-tension power lines, and posits a suggestion that there may be some link between the UFO sightings in that area
and the Great Northeast Blackout of 1965. It's definitely worth reading even for those of only casual interest in UFOs, and a great resource for
those more serious about the subject.

i had a feeling someone from Exeter might chime in on this thread and as i suspected and you have confirmed, many people there know about this case.
what is it about New Hamshire that made this place a UFO hotspot is what i am wondering ? with all the activity that has taken place there i am
surprised you haven't seen anything yet but i will say that be careful what you wish for.

this story caught my interest because just like Norman i was walking home late at night and was terrorized by a UFO and it was not a pleasant
experience. looking back at it now i am glad it happened because it has given me a basis to work from in trying to understand what we are dealing with
but what happened to Norman and myself is not something i would recommend. i am sure people like Norman and Travis Walton would agree with me. thanks
again and here another interesting story from Exeter...

I don't know what would make it a hotspot, the only thing remotely unique about the area was Pease Air Force base. It was very prominent when it was
in service from the 30s to the early 90's, which is just 15mins away from Exeter. It constantly had a flow of F-111's going up and down the coast
in the 80s and I think it had a big bomber squadron even earlier. It handled the bulk of refueling missions on the east coast and now I think it's
an alternate space shuttle landing runway. Other than that, it's a fairly rural region with a lot of woods

yea i don't know exactly why N.H. is such a Hotspot for UFO activity but it is.

Pease Air Force base was a hot spot for UFOS. One actually almost landed on the run way in the 1960s. Pease was a major player in the Exeter
Incident in 1965! Let us not forget the Betty and Barney hill abduction case. Where? About 40-50 miles from Mount Washington!!!

Air force officials at Pease were alerted to put up new precautions at least 2 months before Betty and Barney Hill were to give a speech about their
abductions and about 3 days after that, the blackout of 1965 happened!

Also doing an investigation of the flap that happened then by Ray Fowler and John Fuller uncovered at least 50-100 more UFO sightings in that time
frame.

I, myself uncovered about 25040 more that Ray did not have in this general area.

there have been so many sightings in that part of the Northeast it's Amazing and it could have something to do with the Air Force base, why i don't
know.

another thing you mentioned is how it's mainly wooded area and there have been plenty of UFO's seen in the woods like the
Rendlesham Forest incidentl so the Forest might have something to do with it. who
knows really but it's worth considering. thanks again

For the most current and complete archive of New Hampshire UFO sightings, please visit www.nhufo.org

There are over 800 sightings listed. While Exeter gets more attention because of the famous books, there is still more history than you can possibly
imagine waiting to be read!

New Hampshire also has the distinction of having the first known photograph of a UFO over Mt. Washington in 1870, the first human abduction in 1961 in
the White Mountains, the first sighting over a naval shipyard in Portsmouth in 1896 and recently uncovered is a report that is possibly the first
report of a close encounter by "white men" in North America in 1816 on Mt. Adams in the White Mountains!

Go to the Archive section, click on the 1960's and see how many sightings really happened around Exeter! Maybe you'll recognize someones story. Go
to the Research section to view newspaper articles written about the Exeter incidents.

If you have a sighting to share, you can submit it to them (as mufon has closed their NH website).

Nh and Maine both have some really good ones. There is a very old news story that came out in the Bangor daily news. in 1895 about strange lights over
Mount Katahdin in Greenville Maine. Back then there were no explanations for such things. It would be interesting to find out how many in total
sightings were seen from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

Patrolman Hunt points to spot in the field where he saw the fluttering movement of UFO.
Patrolman Bertrand was in Air Force for four years
and swears UFO he saw was not a plane, a helicopter or balloon.

There's an interesting transcript here about the case from an NBC television programme in 1966 - the people discussing the incident are Dr J. Allen
Hyneck, John Fuller, Donald Menzel, Frank Salisbury and Leo Sprinkle.

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